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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Steinway Lyngdorf S-Series Audio System
Brent Butterworth  |  Aug 23, 2012

When the economy tanked in 2007, a funny thing happened in high-end audio: Many manufacturers prospered by creating even higher-priced products. As a speaker reviewer, I lack the economics chops to explain this turn of events, but I can tell you it has spawned some fascinating audio gear.

Take, for example, Steinway Lyngdorf ’s S-Series, built to be the Bugatti Veyron of compact home theater systems.

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Subwoofer Reviews
Test Report: Sunfire Atmos Subwoofer
Brent Butterworth  |  Aug 23, 2012

For subwoofer designers, the laws of physics boil down to: Small box, low cost, high output — pick any two. You can always shrink the enclosure, but to get decent output from it, you’ll need a high-powered amp and a beefy driver. And if you shrink the box way down, as Sunfire did with its new Atmos subwoofer, you’ll need to go even more extreme.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Test Report: Pioneer VSX-60 A/V Receiver
Daniel Kumin  |  Aug 23, 2012

For those who may harbor any doubt that Pioneer has thrown its lot wholly in with the Connected Generation, let me present Exhibit A: the VSX-60 A/V receiver. The new model’s design bears a close resemblance to those of its predecessors, and any updates in its functions and features are more incremental than otherwise. But when you add everything up, the verdict seems pretty clear.

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Video Processor Reviews
Darbee Visual Presence Darblet Video Enhancer
Kris Deering  |  Aug 22, 2012
I’ll put this out right up front: I’m not a fan of image enhancements. They almost always hurt the image more than they ever help it, and nowadays there is an almost never-ending list of them in just about every display device. From 240 Hz smooth frame modes, to skin tone correctors and detail enhancers, we’re watching them pile up in our menus. Most are garbage and the first thing I turn off when I set up any display. So, on that note, imagine my skepticism when I got the Darbee Darblet in for review. It’s a new video processor that claims to increase depth perception, sharpness and realism with any display at any resolution, including 3D.

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Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Review: Audyssey Wireless Speakers
Michael Berk  |  Aug 22, 2012

Audyssey, a firm that's long been on our radar as a near-ubiquitous provider of software algorithms for home theater, has in recent years stepped up its efforts to become a force in the desktop audio hardware market. We loved their first powered speaker pair, the Audyssey Media Speakers, and the company's now followed those up with a Bluetooth version, the aptly named Audyssey Wireless Speakers.

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Headphone Reviews
Review: RBH EP1 In-Ear Headphone
Brent Butterworth  |  Aug 22, 2012

“So when are you guys gonna do headphones?” I jokingly asked the staff of RBH Sound when I visited them at January’s CES show. A boutique speaker company, RBH focuses on the sort of relatively high-end products that independent dealers like to sell.

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New Products
New Gear: Klipsch X7i In-Ear Monitor
Michael Berk  |  Aug 21, 2012

Last week we told you about the refreshed Klipsch Image S4 in-ear-monitor lineup; this week the firm adds a new mid-priced model to the Image roster, the all-new Klipsch Image X7i ($199.99).

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This Week
New Blu-rays for August 21, 2012: The Hunger Games in HD, The Dictator Unrated, and More
Josef Krebs  |  Aug 21, 2012

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Audio Video News
8K Television Tests Wow Viewers
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 21, 2012
The transition from analog to digital TV opened our eyes to a world of vivid images that we now take for granted, but technology marches on, with the promise of something bigger and better always just around the corner. As consumer electronics companies lay the groundwork for a 4K television/video format that delivers four times the resolution of regular HDTV and prepare to roll out the first 4K TVs, an 8K format is already on the horizon.

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This Week
New Music for August 21st, 2012: John Cale and Danger Mouse, Revisting R.E.M., and More
Mark Smotroff  |  Aug 21, 2012

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